The Commuter Bike Project: Ride Report

Last week, as regular readers know, I finished up the Repurposed Bike.  I now have a heavy commuter in the stable.  I also have enough time on it to form some good solid impressions.

I took the beast out for an (unloaded) test-ride of a bit over 20 miles.  Then I followed that up with a round trip commute.  So far so good!  So on Saturday, I rode the new bike in to work, used it to lead the regular Saturday morning recreational ride, and then rode it home.  The commuting trips were pretty well loaded too.

First impressions:  This bike is not as light as I had envisioned, but it is a bit lighter than my tourist.  So it qualifies for the “light-weight” part of the intention.  It’s fun to ride, and that’s all to the good.  The dropVee levers, coupled with the Shimano V-Brakes are amazing!  The gearing is good.  (Good and low!)  The fenders still need a bit of tweaking.  I’m less than thrilled with the wheel bearings, but I’ll rebuild those and set that right.

The high volume Giant 700 X 28 tires are nice and cushy.  They roll quite nicely, and take the rough stuff in stride.  That helps to smooth out the jolt from hitting the rough stuff with a heavily loaded bike.  The ancient Brooks Professional saddle is going to take some breaking in, but so far, I like it.

One interesting impression:  It takes a bit to get this rig going, especially when loaded up for a Fall/Winter commute, but once moving, it has a sort of “steam-roller effect.”  It rolls right along, and feels like it will keep doing so forever.  Hills are a bit of a challenge, but the gearing is right for pushing a big load over them.  It’s work, but not unpleasant work.

With fenders, rain cap, and such, I can hardly wait for the right conditions.  I know it sounds ludicrous, but I’m looking forward to riding this rig in on a chilly, rainy morning.

The Repurposed Bike: Ready!

Gentlemen and ladies, here she is.  The "Repurposed Bike is now a new commuter, all fresh from the reworking and ready for the first ride.

Here she is in original form, a stock Giant Escape 1

And here she is now!  Readyand waiting  for that first trip.

Particulars:

Saddle:  An antique Brooks Professional

Driveline:  Shimano 8 speed

Shifters:  Shimano Ultegra 8 speed bar end

Brake Levers:  Cane Creek Drop V

Brakes:  Shimano Deore Vee Brakes

Pedals:  Shimano dual use (flats on one side, SPD on the other)

Cargo Rack:  Tubus

Fenders:  SKS

Frame:  Giant Escape

Wheels:  Giant

Handlebar:  Giant

Stem:  Giant

Tires:  Giant

Panniers:  Old School Schwinn  (Not this new, WalleyWorld crap, but real, honest-to-goodness Schwinn parts!)

The bar end shifters were chosen for their reliability, and because they were not integrated into the brakes.  That choice allowed the use of road bike “drop bar” type brake levers that would function with V-brakes.  Cool, huh?

This bike is a bit of an experiment.  It’s a re-blend of parts, to change the purpose of the bike.  This is no super lightweight racer, nor is it a heavy-duty tourist.  What it is (Hopefully) is a solid, reliable, dependable, commuter.  One that meets my particular needs.

Will it work?  How will it handle?  Will it do the intended job?  I’ll keep you posted.

The Return of the Repurposed Bike!

Back about 28 June I spent a bit of time discussing the Repurposed Bike Project.  I had fully intended to deliver a blow-by-blow depiction of the development of this adaptation.  But, as often happens, a bit of Life occurred whilst I was making other plans.  The Summer rolled relentlessly in, and life got incredibly hectic.  So the project went on a bit of a hold.

Now this is a somewhat frustrating state.  I have all the bits and pieces ready and waiting.  I have a strong desire to get the thing done.  But little things keep cropping up.  “What things?” you might ask.  I won’t bore you with trivia.  Everyone gets really busy from time to time.  And Summer is the busiest time in the bike shop too.

Enough with the excuses already.  Let’s get this show on the road!  I’ll be doing some work on this project this week, and will have results to show you soon.  Promise.

New Rig:

“I love to go mountain biking, but you have to go so far to find good trails.  I just about never go.” 

I’ve heard that quote a lot, and uttered it myself from time to time.

A SOLUTION PRESENTS ITSELF!  Now, thanks to the good offices of the South Side Cycling Club and Peachtree City government, we don’t have to go far at all.  In fact it is now possible to ride our bikes to the trail head, and play in the dirt locally.  There are two different trails in town.  One of them is at the Baseball Soccer Complex, and the other, the Stinky Trail, is accessible from the bike paths, just off of Crosstown Road.  (If you are unclear on location and access, please come by Bicycles Unlimited.  We are happy to direct you and advise you on trail conditions and equipment.)

I greatly enjoy off-road riding.  Playing in the dirt.  Mountain biking.  But like the complaint I opened with, over the past five or six years, I’ve gone out less and less.  The time commitment needed to go to event he more local trails has tended to restrict and limit.  As a result, I’ve gradually eliminated all of the more serious dirt riding equipment from my stable.  Sure, I have a couple of rigs that do “okay” off road, but they aren’t true mountain bikes.  More, I’m basically a road rider.  I guess I just sort of lost the incentive.

With the advent of the local trails that has all changed.  I’ve ridden the BSC Trails on the FrankenFixed, and had a lot of fun doing it.  I tackled the Stinky Trail on the old ‘Goose SS.  That was fun too.  On those occasions, it occurred to me that the bike was limiting what I could do.  Sure, it was fun, but…

Enter the Solution!

I just got this baby.  It’s a Giant.  It’s an XtC 29er.  That means it’s an aluminum frame, hardtail, with a set of 29er wheels. 

The new ride

The thing is a no bones, mountain bike.  It’s made for cross-country riding, and it’s a great machine for our conditions.  Might I add, it climbs like a scalded cat, and handles with surefooted quicketude.  The brakes are fantastic.  (Yahoo!)  More, the wonderful folks at Giant and Shimano have developed a “29er specific” driveline.  But most important (to me) the bike fits!  It fits in a lot of ways.  The size is right, and it fits my particular riding style.  Wow!

Technical Digression  (skip this if tech stuff bores you):  You who have followed this blog for some time, will know that I’ve played around with various forms of the 29er type bike.  I’m impressed with how well they handle climbing, and how readily they roll over the rough stuff.  But there is an inherent problem.  You see, a 29er is actually a 700C sized wheel, with mountain tires on it.  It’s about 29 inches in diameter.  (Hence the name.) 

The thing is, with all that extra width, each rotation of the tire takes one about 12% farther.  When you consider that the usual “step” between gears is around 5 to 7 %, that’s pretty significant.  Boiled down, conventional mountain bike drivelines are just not low enough to handle the effectively higher final ratio of the big tires.

The 29er specific driveline has a much lower final, and is a bit lower on the high end.  That makes for delightful climbing, and still delivers plenty of top end.

~~ End Digression.

I’ve had the new bike on the paths in Peachtree City, and I’ve managed to do a fairly good, and seriously proper, off road ride with it.  It’s a blast!  Absolutely huge Fun Factor.”

The fun won’t stop there.  I expect to do a good bit more riding on this.  I’ll be spending a lot more time on our local trails.  I fully expect to take some of you with me.  Keep watching for more on that.

More Progress

Here she is.  This is the “new build.”  It’s a Surly Traveler’s Check.  That’s their Cross Check frame, with the S&S couplers.  The frame couplers make it possible for this bike to perform a pretty neat trick.  (More on that soon.)

Here she is, in current trim.

Another, and slightly more flattering, view.

For now, this is a neat bike.  It’s a single speed, or it’s a fixie.  The magic is in the rear hub.  That’s a SRAM Torpedo.  The special thing about the hub is that it can be a fixed gear, or a freewheeling single speed, with the flick of a common screwdriver.

I’ve now put about 25 miles on the bike, and so far, I’m completely delighted with it.  This is a versatile frame.  There's a lot of clearance, for larger tires, fenders, mud, or whatever.  The bike's handling is sure, but delightfully responsive.  Rare, for me (with my huge feet) I don't have to worry about toe strike when cornering sharply!

In the very near future, I’ll be showing off, letting you see the bike’s big trick.

Like most projects, this one evolved and changed as I was working on it.  It is both more, and less than I envisioned.  Will this one be one of the "great favorites"?  Or will this become just another passing fancy.  Time will tell.

Next Project:  Now I have to build up the old frame, from years past, for this year’s Spin Class Season.  I have to get that done quick.  There’s some down time coming, but I’ll be instructing as soon as I get back.

Into the Swing of things

Here we go again.  It’s Monday.  It’s mid-October, and just about mid-Autumn.  Halloween is barreling down the road, coming right at us, and chasing the break are the Holidays!  In the meantime, let’s ride every chance we get, and make the most of those rides.  The time is right, the world is waiting.  It’s Autumn in north Georgia, and that’s about as good as it gets.

Holiday Gift Hinting:  For any of you who are working on gifts for the cyclist in your life, or who want some help hinting to others, refer to a previous post on the topic.  Gift hinting    

One week until MidFall Celebration Night Ride!  I’m stoked up about this one.  The route is going to be a blast, and the timing is right.  Expect to need to dress a bit warmer.  We’ll plan to make a stop to allow riders to pull on more clothing, about midway through the route.

Recommended:  Good lights, as always on these rides.  Watch the weather and dress accordingly.  Those of you who have the option, plan to bring your more rugged, more touring oriented bikes.

The New Build is Done!  Keep watching this spot.  I’ll have pictures and discussion up on this one soon.

Watch this space, and watch the Tuesday Tome!  We're adding a lot of seasonal rides.  Plans are in the works to bring back the Dawn Patrols.

Trivia and Updates

Ah the wonders of base ten.  Some may have noted that yesterday was a day of some significance.  That’s because the date (by the purest of arithmetic coincidences) was 10-10-10.  Of course if we only happened to have four digits on each hand it would have been 12-12-2512.  In binary it’s even worse, being 1010-1010-1010.  Given enough time, Shimano will, no doubt, develop that into a driveline, and then Campy will claim they did it first with but theirs will be a 1010-1010-1011 gearset.

MidFall Celebration Night Ride:  It’s coming.  In just two weeks.  Here’s a bit of news on that.  We will meet and depart from the Hollonville Opry House.  It’s at the intersection of GA-362 and Kings Bridge Rd.  Watch the weather.  It could be getting cool that night.  We’ll go rain or shine, warm or cool.

A moon, just a bit past full, will rise for us, just after 8:30.

This ride just might be a bit shorter, but it will be well worth it.  I promise some challenging terrain, and some special rewards.  And just a suggestion here, but those of you with touring type bikes would be well advised to use them.  Don’t worry, the pace will be a bit calmer to allow for that.

Project Update:  The new build project is ne schedule, and maybe just a tad ahead.  I got the driveline completed this past week, and have added a few touches.  For any who are tuning in late, here’s the short and skinny.

I’m building up a Surly Traveler’s Check.  It’s basically a cyclocross frame, with S&S couplers.  So it’s a travel bike too.  I built up a rear wheel around the new SRAM Torpedo hub.  It’s a trick hub that can be used as a single speed or a fixed gear.  It doesn’t shift from one to the other on the fly, but it can be changed with the twist of a screwdriver.  No need to unmount the wheel and flip it.  Expect some pictures along about next week.

Starting tomorrow, we’ll be doing some technical work.  The subject will be brakes.